Civil rights leaders alarmed after bible and other artifacts are removed from Smithsonian African-American museum
A Bible carried during civil rights demonstrations and other artifacts are being quietly removed from the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the nation's capital, according to reports.
Rev. Amos Brown, a pastor and civil rights activist for more than five decades, received an email from the museum informing him that a Bible he carried during civil rights protests with Dr. Martin Luther King as well as other pieces he donated would soon be returned to him, he told WUSA9.
The Smithsonian museum opened its permanent location on the National Mall in September 2016. The reverend's bible has been a part of its collection since. But now, the museum said it would be returning the items it first borrowed nine years ago.
'We are grateful for the loan of these important objects and the ability to share them with the public. In order to preserve them and not display them for too long, we are now returning them to you,' the email said.
The Independent has reached out to the museum for comment.
The move comes one month after President Donald Trump 's March 27 executive order aiming to 'restore truth and sanity to American history.' The order targets Smithsonian museums, which have 'come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,' the order says.
To achieve this restoration, the order says, expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy' are prohibited.
Brown doubted that the items were being returned to his possession due to fear of harming their condition: 'The flimsy excuse was because they were under too much light.'
His copy of The History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880, a historical account of the treatment of Black Americans from the slave trade through the 19th century, was also being returned to him, he said. 'I had called them and told them how unfortunate and ideological it is,' he added.
In a statement to the outlet, the museum said it 'routinely returns loaned artifacts per applicable loan agreements and rotates objects on display in accordance with the Smithsonian's high standards of care and preservation and as part of our regular museum turnover.' The statement continued: 'Recent claims that objects have been removed for reasons other than adherence to standard loan agreements or museum practices are false.'
Brown told NBC4 he was never asked about renewing the loan. "It is downright dishonest and it is demeaning," he told the outlet. "I hope people of good will, of conscience and common sense will rise up and say 'we need to stop this."
Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson also denounced the museum's decision to remove artifacts. He wrote on X over the weekend: 'The Trump administration's attempt to remove exhibits from the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is a blatant attack on Black history. Erasing our past won't change the truth. We will not be silenced.'
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